Gold prices inched up on Thursday, June 7, as the euro rose to 2-week highs against the U.S dollar, with investors waiting for meetings of key central banks and the U.S.-North Korea summit all due next week.
Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,297.46 per ounce by 0703 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery were largely unchanged at $1,301.50 per ounce.
The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.3 percent to
93.388.
The euro climbed to two-week highs against many of its rivals on Thursday, on rising bets the European Central Bank (ECB) may announce it will wind down its stimulus programme by year-end as early as next week.
“A strong euro means a weaker dollar, so that’s definitely the reason that gold is firm,” said Yuichi Ikemizu, Tokyo branch manager at CIBC Standard Bank.
“The market is pretty quiet, there is no big factor to make the market move at the moment,” Ikemizu said, adding that investors were waiting for events next week.
A Federal Reserve policy meeting and U.S.-North Korea summit are both due next week, while a G7 summit begins this Friday in Quebec.
Expectations of higher interest rates and a surge inequities have capped gains in non-interest-paying bullion, which is priced in dollars.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.42 percent to 832.59 tonnes on Wednesday, the lowest in over three-months.
Meanwhile, silver rose 0.3 percent to $16.69 per ounce.
Platinum was up 0.3 percent to $905.50 an ounce and palladium was 0.1 percent higher at $1,016.80.
